NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001

To the Buddha (ca. 600 B.C.) it was an attribute of noble persons. The Roman statesman Cicero (106-43 B.C.) considered it "the parent of all other virtues." The Christian Church's altar sacrament is called Eucharist, after the Greek word for giving thanks.

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), a fierce foe of Christian ethics, nevertheless praised gratitude as "the essence of all beautiful art." And to Nietzsche's fellow countryman and colleague Georg Simmel (1858-1918), one of the grandfathers of sociology, gratitude was "the moral memory of mankind."

The latest news about gratitude is scientific: according to research data accumulated by Robert A. Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, it makes you healthier, smarter and more energetic.

Emmons made participants in his study keep weekly journals of gratitude, and then compared them with others who didn't jot down who they should thank and what for.

In the January issue of Research News in Science and Theology, Emmons published the preliminary results. The grateful ones, he found, "exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole and where more optimistic about the upcoming week."

In a second study, Emmons introduced a "daily gratitude intervention," which he describes as "self-guided exercises with young results." The results were "higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy."

What makes the grateful healthier and saner than the ingrate? Emmons' research partner, professor Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University, theorized that gratitude has three social functions:

1. It is a moral barometer.

2. It is a moral motive that prompts people to behave themselves pro-socially.

3. It is a moral reinforcer. When people put their gratitude in words or actions they increase the likelihood of further benevolent actions.

Benedictine monk and author David Steindl-Rast considers gratitude an "overall life orientation." Its study by Emmons, McCollough and others is part of a worldwide probe into the way virtues affect the virtuous. This research has already shown that faith, prayer and the regular attendance of religious services result in better health and higher longevity.

What the opposite of gratitude does to people requires no scientific investigation. It was said by Immanuel Kant (1724-11804) in six words: "Ingratitude is the essence of vileness."

Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.